Who has more say over WFH?

[Crowrow]

So I am interviewing for a new job. Team is in the US and laid back. However, UK recruiter says I cannot WFH fully and need to be in office 2-3 days a week. I would be the only person in my team going in as the rest are US-based so why is this recruiter being so adamant about it? In practice this would be a complete waste of my time and money. The hiring manager was fine with WFH fully in my first interview so I am now wondering if I get offered the role, should I then push back with recruiter? Or should I just give up now and walk away? My job can be done from home and I am a bit uneasy about a vague 2-3-days-in-office arrangement 🤔

for context, it’s a 10k increase in salary but it doesn’t mean much if im having to change my life over this new job and make it
harder for myself and family 😅

I would see if you get offered the role. If you do you can make WFH a condition of your acceptance. If they won't allow that then you don't have to take it.

Is the recruiter internal or external to the company? They may just be sticking to company policy where the hiring manager will have more flexibility.

But companies can and do have different ways of working policies in different countries and for new hires vs current contracts.

e.g. all my team are remote fully WFH, including several in US. Company policy has been changed recently so my newest recruit will have to relocate while the rest of us WFH. They tried to get me back to the office 2 days a week but my contract takes precedence.

If WFH is a deal breaker for you, I would ask again if you are offered the role.

It might be that company have a policy of 2-3 days in office per week and it will be in your contract. The hiring manager might be ok with WFH for now , but if a big boss decides that everyone should be in the office 3 days a week then you’ll have to follow contract.

Many recruiters are getting burned by candidates not being ok with return to office for a few days a week, getting people to offer stage and then finding out they want to WFH full time which is against official policy.

Also some places are having new rules / contracts for new hires because their existing contracts don’t allow enforcement for current staff, so while your hiring manager may be able to WFH, your contract may end up different if you get the role.

How far along in the process are you?

Thanks everyone. I will go ahead with my next interview and discuss WFH if I get offered the job. I guess there’s not much point dwelling about it at this stage

What's the recruiter's relationship with the role?

@Chewbecca the recruiter is internal and just dealing with recruiting logistics of the role

Sounds like the recruiter is simply putting their oar in where it's not needed

Let's face it, once you start the job, it's irrelevant what they think!

@canuckup that’s what I was thinking… how set in stone is what he is saying? Will discuss with hiring manager

When I got my job the hiring manager said he was totally easy on wfh/hybrid/office and it was down to me. I went for hybrid but the recruiter said had to be 2 days in office, when I asked for 1. So I do 2 days. I expect my manager would be fine if I reduced it to one or even went back to wfh permanently